The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has received permission to import an additional 350 megawatts of electricity from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh of India.

The NEA had sought permission to import 600 MW of electricity including 450 MW from Bihar and 150 MW from Uttar Pradesh. However, India has granted permission to import 350 MW of electricity.

The NEA has been importing electricity from India to meet the electricity demand during winter. According to the NEA, India has permitted the export of 300 MW to Nepal against the demand of 450 MW through the Raxaul-Parwanipur, Kushaha-Kataiya and Gandak-Ramnagar transmission lines. Similarly, the southern neighbor granted permission for the import of 50 MW against the request for 150 MW of electricity from the Mainahia-Sampatia transmission line.

Prior to this, permission was granted to import 654 MW electricity from the Dhalkebar-Muzaffarpur cross border transmission line.

According to the NEA, load management will be facilitated only if electricity is permitted during peak hours. Chandan Kumar Ghosh, NEA spokesperson and head of the Load Dispatch Center (LDC), said that there is no problem in load management at other times except during peak hours.

Most of the projects in Nepal are based on flow of the river. As a result, only one-third of the total electricity is produced in winter. The NEA has been importing electricity from India to meet the demand during winter. During the monsoon, the NEA has been selling electricity to India.